During February, we spent the majority of our time at Agave Gulch FAMCAMP. We love Tucson and have some friends there and in the surrounding area so it was the perfect place for us to stay for a while.
The highlight of the month was seeing so many friends in Tucson, Maricopa, Scottsdale and Tempe.
While in Tucson, we also went to a number of museums, National Parks, hiking trails, played some golf and worked out a few times. The weather was pretty good although it rained a few more days than I expected. Surprisingly, we could see the snow in the surrounding mountains at the upper elevations.
Overall - it was our best month for expenses since we began full-timing in May of 2009:
Overall, we where a whooping $1060 under budget. It helps when you have a $1000 budgeted for diesel and you don't drive it anywhere during the month.
The highlight of the month was seeing so many friends in Tucson, Maricopa, Scottsdale and Tempe.
While in Tucson, we also went to a number of museums, National Parks, hiking trails, played some golf and worked out a few times. The weather was pretty good although it rained a few more days than I expected. Surprisingly, we could see the snow in the surrounding mountains at the upper elevations.
Overall - it was our best month for expenses since we began full-timing in May of 2009:
Overall, we where a whooping $1060 under budget. It helps when you have a $1000 budgeted for diesel and you don't drive it anywhere during the month.
Good news are areas where we are under budget-
At Agave Gulch, our campground fees were $6/night in the overflow area and $17/night in the full hookup sites.
The other area we did well in was medical. Also - not budget related but significant for us was that we changed from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard. That allows us to find a doctor that takes Tricare insurance anywhere in the country. We have additional co-pays (up to $300/yr) and a deductible limit of $3000 per year. That gives us additional flexibility instead of being tied to a doctor and facility in a specific area of the county.
The other area we did well in was medical. Also - not budget related but significant for us was that we changed from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard. That allows us to find a doctor that takes Tricare insurance anywhere in the country. We have additional co-pays (up to $300/yr) and a deductible limit of $3000 per year. That gives us additional flexibility instead of being tied to a doctor and facility in a specific area of the county.
Biggest expenses for the month -
- We played golf three times at the Davis-Monthan golf course and spent $140.
- We continue to spend more than we budget of food and were $130 over our $400 budget.
- We continue to spend more than we budget of food and were $130 over our $400 budget.
Large 'One Time Cost Item(s)' -
- I got Pam's MacBook fixed and took the technician's advice to purchase a separate external hard drive for my backups ($118)
- We bought a small standup vacuum ($90)to clean the large areas of the Roadrunner.
- We bought a small standup vacuum ($90)to clean the large areas of the Roadrunner.
Monthly average since we started tracking in June 2009 -
The monthly averages shows a lower monthly average than in January. The average is down $237. We still are a considerable amount above our target, but are confident we can get closer to our average number of $3320/ month.
Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today!
Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today!
Thanks for the info. We just changed to Tricare/Standard and added the Dental. We'll see how our first month pans out. It's great to see another military person post.
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